Handle for burial-caskets or the like.



PATENTED JUNE 28, 1904.

G. A. SCHEHR.

vHANDLE FOR BURIAL GASKETS OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC 8, 1902.

no KODBL.

UNITE STATES Patented June 28, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE ADAM SCHEHR, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CRANE & BREED MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A COR PORATION OF OHIO.

HANDLE FOR BURlAL-CASKETS OR THE LIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 763,799, dated June 28, 1904.

Application filed December 8, 1902. Serial No. 134,342. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE ADAM ScHnHR, a citizen of the United States of America, and aresident of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Handles for Burial-Caskets or the Like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improve- IO ments in handles, such as are especially adapted for use on caskets, coflins, and the like; and the object of the invention is to provide a handle of this general character of a simple, light, and inexpensive nature, having rein- I 5 forcing means of an improved and simplified construction by means of which the strength of the handle may be greatly increased, so as to obviate accidental breakage thereof, the construction and arrangement of the several parts of the improved handle according to my invention being such that the increased strength is attained without making the handle clumsy or unsightly in proportion and without unnecessarily increasing the cost of 2 5 manufacture thereof.

The invention consists in certain novel features of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of the improved casket or coflin handle whereby cer o tain important advantages are attained and the device is made simpler, cheaper, and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use than various other forms of casket or coffin handle heretofore devised, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is afront 4 elevation showing a casket or coffin handle constructed according to my invention; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken vertically through the pivotal connection of the swinging arm with the escutcheon-plate'of thehandle, the plane of the section being indicated by the line art in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is asectional view taken vertically and centrally through the handle in a plane at right angles to the plane of the section in Fig. 2, the swinging arm of the handle being in raised position and a portion of the wall of a casket being shown in section to illustrate the relation of the handle thereto. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the steel arch-brace employed for strengthening the escutcheon-plate 5 5 of the handle to enable it to withstand the strains to which itis subjected when the casket or coflin is raised or lifted by means of its handles. Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view taken vertically through the escutcheon-plate of the handle in the plane indicated by the line 7) a in Fig. 3 and showing the steel archbrace embedded in said escutcheon-plate.

As shown in the views, the improved handle is made in a well-known style and comprises an escutcheon-plate adapted for attachment by means of screws or the like to the side of a casket or coffin and a swinging arm held by a pivotal connection to the escutcheon-plate and having a circular loop at its 7 free end adapted for the passage of a handbar, which may be grasped by the hand of a bearer in lifting and carrying the coffin or casket. -There are commonly two escutcheonplates and swinging arms employed in connection with each hand-bar, the hand-bar being extended between the swinging arms; but since my improvements relate more especially to the improved construction of the escutcheon-plate and its swinging arm I have herein illustrated only these parts.

1 indicates as a whole the escutcheon-plate of the improved handle, and this plate is usually cast from soft metal, so as to adapt it for being plated, and is made in any suitable de- 5 sign, being provided with openings 2 2, suitably arranged for receiving screws or similar devices'for the attachment of the plate 1 to the side of the casket or coflin. To lighten the escutcheon-plate as much as possible, it is 9 hollowed out upon its rear surface, as clearly shown in Fig. 3; but at the points where the openings 2 2 are located the rear surface of i said plate is cast with integral lugs 3 3, through which said openings are passed, said lugs being adapted to engage upon the side surface of the casket, (indicated at w in the drawings.) The central portion of the escutcheon-plate 1 is formed with an outwardly-extended bearing portion or socket-piece 4 of a general rounded form, and this socket-piece or portion 4 is hollowed out, as shown at 5, upon the rear surface of the escutcheon-plate, so as to produce a chamber or socket, in which is adapted to be received the rounded pivotal end 11 of the swinging arm 10 of the handle, said socket-piece or portion 4 being formed at opposite sides with outwardly extended lugs 6 6, which are perforated for the passage of a pivot-pin 8, whereon the swinging arm 10 is held for vertical swinging movement. The lugs 6 6 are spaced apart from each other, as shown at 7, and in the space between them the swinging arm 10 is held for pivotal swinging movement. The pivotal end portion 11 of the swinging arm 10 is formed at its upper part with a semispherical surface adapted to fit snugly within the opening or chamber 5 of the socket-piece or portion 4 and to play in said chamber or socket as the swinging arm is moved pivotally into raised or lowered position, the construction being such that the opening or socket 5, through which said end 11 plays, is filled and closed at all times thereby. The free outer end of the swinging arm 10 is formed with a loop 12 of circular form, in which is adapted to be held one end portion of the hand-bar 13, which extends between the two swinging arms, as above described, a screw 14 being provided for holding the handbar in relation, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. At the under side of the pivotal end 11 of the swinging arm 10 is formed a shoulder 16, adapted when said arm is in raised position, as indicated in Fig. 3, to engage upon a shoulder 15, produced on the escutcheonplate 1 and extended between the lugs 6 6 and across the bottom of the space 5, as seen in Figs. 3 and 5. The swinging arm 10 is also usuallyformed from cast metal, so that it may be plated and ornamented with any desired design, and in the soft cast metal from which said arm is produced is, as herein shown, embedded a reinforcing or strengthening piece or strip 18, cut or stamped from sheet or plate metal of a required strength, said piece or strip 18 being extended from the pivot-point of the arm, where it has a perforation for the passage of the pin 8, to the outer end of said arm, where it is provided with a semicircular arched or curved portion 20, adapted to extend around the upper or top portion of the loop 12 to receive the stress exerted on the hand-bar 13 in carrying or lifting the casket or coffin. The pivotal end of said piece or strip 18 is extended in the portion 11 of the arm so as to engage over the web or shoulder 15 and strengthen said portion 11 of the arm, when the arm is in raised position.

For reinforcing and strengthening the escutcheon-plate 1 I provide a strengthening or reinforcing device, also adapted to be embedded in the soft or cast metal from which said plate 1 is formed and of a construction to form an arch extended across the rounded upper side of the socket or opening 5, in which the pivoted end 11 of the swinging arm works, so as to form a brace extended above said socket or opening to enable the escutcheon-plate to resist the strains exerted upon it by the arm 10 when raised, so that'crushing or bending of the cast-metal escutcheon-plate and possible breakage thereof when the casket or coifin is lifted are prevented. The reinforcing or strengthening device for the escutcheon-plate is formed from an elongated piece or strip of sheet metal of suitable strengthsuch as sheet-steel, for example-and is made in the form shown at 19 in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, having a central bend producing an upper arched portion or brace 20, adapted to be extended across the rounded upper side of the socket or opening 5 and of a width such that when embedded in the plate 1 its outer edge extends substantially to the full extent as the outermost portion of the projecting socketpiece or portion 4 of the escutcheon-plate, as seen in Fig. 3, while its inner edge is extended to the rear surface of the escutcheon-plate, as shown at 21 in said figure, and is adapted to bear or impinge upon the outer surface of the side wall of the casket or coifin, (indicated at in said figure,) so that all strains exerted upon said arched or curved upper portion 20 of the reinforce or brace are preferably transmitted to the side wall of the casket or coffin. The semispherical portion of the swinging arm 10 which works in the socket 5 is of course within the arched portion 20 of the reinforce, and since the arm 10 (including its reinforce 18) is constructed at its upper part with a shoulder 17, adapted when the arm is raised to impinge or bear directly upon the outer surface of the projecting socket-piece or portion 4 of the plate 1, in which portion said arched brace 20 is embedded, it is evident that the stress exerted upon the upper part of the socket-piece in lifting and bearing the casket or coffin is very considerable, and it will also be evident that by the arrangement of the steel arch-brace shown such stress, or strain is preferably transmitted to the casket or coffin wall and the crushing or bending of said socket-piece or portion is altogether avoided.

The metal strip or piece from which the reinforcing device or brace 19 is formed has its side portions extended down parallel with each other below the arched or curved upper part 20, as shown at 22 22 in the drawings, and these parallel side portions are embedded in the socket-piece or portion 4 at opposite sides of the opening or socket 5 and are provided with perforated lugs 23 23, extended outward from their outer edges, which lugs are embedded in the lugs 6 of the cast-metal escutcheon-plate and have their perforations adapted for the passage of the ends of the pivot-pin 8. By this construction it will also be seen that said lugs 23 also serve to brace the lugs 6 6 of the escutcheon-plate and to afford a secure and firm mounting for the ends of the pivot-pin 8, so that the strains thereon are taken up and are not imposed upon the soft metal from which the escutcheon-plate and said lugs 6 are ordinarily formed. Below the lugs 23 23 the parallel side portions 22 22 of the steel arch-brace or reinforce 19 are formed with extended portions 24 24 of reduced width projecting centrall y from the end edges of said side portions,

and said extensions 24 are twisted and provided with perforated and enlarged end portions 25 25, which are bent slightly outside of the said parallel side portions of the brace and extend in a plane at right angles to the planes in which the side portions themselves stand. Said enlarged and perforated extremities 25 25 are embedded in the lower part of the escutcheon-plate below the projecting socketpiece or portion 4 and have their perforations alined with the openings 2 2, through which are passed the screws for holding the plate 1 upon the side of the casket or coffin, and since the said extensions are central on the end edges of the side portions 22 22 it is evident that the perforated extremities 25 25 will be embedded in the thickness of the .eseutcheonplate midway between the front and rear surfaces thereof, so that when said screws are inserted through the openings 2 2 the steel archbrace or reinforce will be securely held in place upon the side wall of the casket or coflin.

The construction and arrangement of the steel arch-brace or reinforce 19 for the escutcheon-plate are such that the rear edges both of its upper curved or arched portion 20 and of its straight and parallel side portions 22 22 are preferably adapted to bear or impinge upon the side of the casket or cofi in wall, the screws passed through the openings 2 2 in plate 1 being also passed through the openings in the enlarged lower ends of the extensions 24: 24 of the brace, so as to hold said brace upon the casket or coffin without imposing strain upon the soft-metal body of the plate 1. The strains exerted by the swinging arm in lifting or bearing the casket or coffin will be transmitted in part through the pivot-pin 8 to the lugs 23 23 at the sides of the brace and in part to the curved or arched upper part 20 of said brace; but in both cases such strains will be altogether transmitted to the side wall of the casket or coflin and will not fall upon the soft cast-metal body portion of the escutcheon-plate.

The construction of the improved casket'or coffin handle with an escutcheon-plate provided with a reinforce or strengthening device in the form of an arched brace, as herein set forth, is not only extremely simple and inexpensive, but is also of great strength and serves to prevent any liability to crushing or breakage of the soft-metal parts when the casket or coffin is being lifted or borne, so that the improved handle is especially well adapted for use. It will also be seen that, owing to the body portion of the escutcheonplate being formed from the soft metal, it may be readily cast in a very ornate design and may be plated and highly polished with a minimum of labor and expense. It will also be evident from the above description that the improvedhandle constructed according to my invention is capable of considerable modification without material departure from the principles and spirit of the invention, and for this reason I do not Wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the several parts of the reinforcis embedded a hard-metal reinforce the central part of which is arched over the socket with a front edge at the front face of the escutcheon-plate and a rear edge at the rear face of the escutcheon-plate to bear on the casket or cofiin, the ends of the reinforce being extended down at the sides of the socket and being anchored in the soft metal and having perforated lugs embedded in the lugs of the escutcheon-plate, in combination with a pivotpin held in the lugs and a swinging arm pivoted on the pivot-pin with an end adapted to enter the socket and a shoulder above the pivot-pin adapted, when the arm is raised, to engage upon the top of the socket at the front face of the central arched part of the reinforce.

Signed at Cincinnati, Ohio, this 5th day of December, 1902.

GEORGE ADAM SCHEHR. Witnesses:

W. 1131212131), JOHN 'ELIAs J ONES. 

